MISSISSIPPI

GET READY TO DISCOVER YOUR MISSISSIPPI fore-bearers as you explore genealogical and historical treasures of the Magnolia State! Mississippi embraces a captivating past of native peoples, Africans, and immigrants who have transformed the state into a unique fusion of cultures. Enduring French, British and Spanish rule, removal of Native Americans, slavery, the devastation of the Civil War and the chaos of the Civil Rights Era, Mississippians have remained resilient.

This guide will help you find your ancestor’s story within Mississippi’s collective heritage, which is preserved in the following easily accessible sources.

MISSISSIPPIAN HISTORY

The place we now know as Mississippi was historically inhabited by several Native American tribes including the Natchez, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Tunica and Yazoo. French missionaries were the first Europeans to colonize the area along the Gulf Coast in 1699, and the French establishment Fort Rosalie (now Natchez) along